The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a rail for a hard drive carrier.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system (IHS). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
The overlying problem addressed by this disclosure is that as hard disk drive (HDD) density increases, the physical mounting of HDDs in an HDD bay becomes more challenging due to space constraints in the server chassis. These space constraints are especially restrictive in the application where the bottom of the HDD occupying the bottom slot in an HDD bay is very close to the bottom of the server chassis. Although there is very little space in which to fit guiding features for the HDDs occupying the bottom slots in the HDD bays, having this guiding feature is crucial. Misalignment of the bottom HDD due to insufficient guiding features can damage both the HDD and the entire HDD backplane, which is costly to replace in the field. This disclosure provides mounting rails for the bottom HDDs in a tight space, a problem that cannot be solved using prior technology such as zippies or individual rails roll-riveted to a sheet metal wall.
The other corollary to the problem of mounting HDDs in a space-constrained server chassis is the challenge of adequately controlling the spacing between adjacent HDDs in the same HDD bay. The tolerances that govern the gaps between HDDs that are stacked one above the other in the same HDD bay are very tight. As a result, the tolerances of the features that guide the HDDs into their proper position or slot in the HDD bay must also be tightly controlled. If individual rails attached to a sheet metal bay wall are used to guide the HDDs into their proper slots in the HDD bay, the associated tolerance stackup between the rails of adjacent HDDs will be multiplied by the number of HDDs in one stack. Once again, this problem becomes more pronounced as server HDD density increases. The current disclosure solves this tolerance stackup problem by incorporating all of the guiding features on one side of the HDD bay into one plastic part, which is attached to the sheet metal bay wall. Thus, the tolerance stackup between HDD guiding features remains fixed, regardless of the number of HDDs in the HDD bay.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved rail for a hard drive carrier absent the disadvantages discussed above.